Paleo Steak and Kidney Pie

This recipe is a Paleo adaptation of one of my grandmother’s famous dishes, the steak and kidney pie that she made every year for New Year’s Eve. It is actually a traditional method to make steak and kidney pie as a pot pie topped with choux pastry (I wish I could take the credit for inventing this amazing combination).  When I developed a Paleofied choux pastry for my Paleo Chocolate Éclairs, this was the next recipe I wanted to try.  It is a pastry that manages to be light and airy yet rich and decadent at the same time.   It feels a little like eating Yorkshire pudding as a pie crust.  It’s delightful!  Oh, and if you think you don’t like kidney, this is the recipe to try.  It’s the kind of dish where you might find yourself saying “I don’t like kidney, er, except in The Paleo Mom’s steak and kidney pie–cuz that’s da bomb”.  Or whatever the kids say these days.  Lamb kidney is definitely the most mild and tender (I consider it gateway kidney), but you could easily substitute beef  or  pork kidney in this recipe.  Serves 6-8.

Ingredients (Steak and Kidney Filling):

• 3 lbs steak
• 1 1/2 pounds lamb kidney
• 6 oz portobello mushrooms
• 1 large sweet onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper, to taste
• 3 medium carrots
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 Tbsp arrowroot powder
• 3-4 Tbsp bacon grease (or use tallow, lard or coconut oil)

1. Slice steak and kidney into quarter inch thick slices. Slice carrot into half inch thick rounds, and portobello mushrooms into half inch thick cubes. Cut onion in half and then slice into quarter inch thinck half moons.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of bacon grease in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown meat and kidney separately in batches. Set aside.
3. Add 1-2 tablespoons bacon grease to pan if needed. Brown onion slices for 7-8 minutes. Add carrot and mushrooms for 3-4 more minutes.
4. Return meat to the pot. Whisk arrowroot powder into beef stock and add to pot.   Also add fish sauce and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for one and a half hours.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
5. Pour into a large casserole or lasagna dish.  Let cool to room temperature (if it’s a little warmer than room temperature when the choux pastry is ready, that’s okay).
6. While cooling, prepare choux pastry.

Ingredients (Choux Pastry): 

• ½ cup palm shortening (you could substitute unsalted butter)
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted (measure after sifting)
• 1/3 cup tapioca starch
• 1/3 cup arrowroot powder
• 4 eggs + 1 egg yolk
• Pinch of salt

1. This is going to be intense, so I recommend measuring out all of your ingredients before you start.  Combine your flours and salt.  Crack your eggs and place them in separate bowls (okay you can combine your extra yolk and one egg in a bowl).    Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Heat coconut milk and palm shortening over medium heat until it just starts to simmer.  Remove from heat and pour in all of the flour all at once.  Stir like mad until it’s thick and fully combined.
3. Add the eggs ONE AT A TIME and stir like crazy with each addition (you are doing this off the heat).  Each time you add an egg, the dough will seem to separate and then as you stir, it will come together.  Wait until it comes together before adding the next egg.
4. At the end, you have a fairly warm, quite thick and sticky cream-colored dough.
5. Immediately pour the dough over the cooled steak and kidney filling.  Spread with a spoon or spatula to evenly cover the entire surface.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned on top (you might want to put a baking sheet under the casserole dish just in case it bubbles over a little).  Enjoy!